I had the pleasure of interviewing the composer of the Broadway musical Hair, Galt MacDermot, along with one of the creators, James Rado, several years ago. Galt was a big jazz fan and applied that influence along with pop styles of the day to compose the 1968 groundbreaking musical Hair. The legendary songs “Aquarius” and “Let The Sunshine In” will live on forever as beautiful reflections of Galt’s work. RIP Galt MacDermot.

This podcast was featured in the Masterworks Broadway Podcast Theater series.

Working with Billy Bob Thornton is one of life’s treasures. Billy’s first passion is music and he's like an encyclopedia when it comes to rock-n-roll. And if it has anything to do with Elvis Presley, he really lights up. As is the case when I asked Billy, in a side discussion, about the day Elvis left us on August 16, 1977.

This was recorded as part of Billy's Beautiful Door podcast and was included in The Elvis Presley Podcast Series.

The close friendship between master songwriter Jimmy Webb and legendary artist Glen Campbell lasted for decades. My favorite song from these two is the 1969 masterpiece “Witchita Lineman." I had the good fortune to hang out with Jimmy Webb one afternoon in 2008 and asked him about the song and his writing process. Jimmy is a fascinating voice of American popular music and his work with Campbell will always remain as the standard bearer of contemporary Americana.

In 2006, I was commissioned by Sony to produce a Broadway podcast series. One of my first assignments was to interview the great Barbara Cook about her illustrious career. She was my first Broadway legend and she lived up to that title in all the best ways. She was warm and inspiring and an absolute pro with amazing stories. I cut the interview at her NYC apartment with her large collection of birds chirping in the background. Her take on overcoming fear and self-doubt is brilliant.

Here is that episode which aired as part of The Masterworks Broadway Podcast Theater: